Stop iPhoto From Opening When You Plug in an iPhone Other Device

This tutorial will show you how to stop iPhoto from opening each time you plug in your iPhone (or iPod Touch, or any device with a camera) – and still allow iPhoto to automatically launch when you plug in your digital camera.

The application Image Capture was recently updated to include long sought-after functionality – the ability to choose which application launches – or none at all – when you plug in a specific device. This means that you can set your digital camera to automatically launch iPhoto when it’s plugged in, but have nothing happen when your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad is plugged in.

To set your preferences by device, follow the instructions outlined below.

1. Launch Image Capture by going to your Applications list and double-clicking it. With no devices (cameras, scanners, iPods, iPhones etc) connected, it will look similar to the screen below.


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2. Now plug in a device (or three, as I have in the image below). Select that device from the DEVICES menu in the left column. Now choose an action for that device by selecting the Connecting this xxxxxx opens: drop-down list. In the case of my camera, I want iPhoto to launch when it’s plugged in.


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3. Now select (or plug in) another device. In the example below, I don’t want anything to happen when I plug my Android phone in, so I selected No application from the drop-down list.


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4. And I repeated the above step for my iPod. Note: iTunes will still launch when you plug an iPod or iPhone into your Mac if you have that preference set in iTunes itself.


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5. Once again repeat the steps if you want to stop iPhoto from opening when you plugin in your iPhone. That’s it! Now you can have individual settings per device.